Comments (8)

Looks like the defence work carried out @ Huntworth has been successful, let's hope the worst weather for the time being has passed. !!! Now the Dutch Pumps can shift the Millions of Tons of Water lying now on the Moors for the last 6- 8 weeks. The fantastic efforts of the E Agency Engineers on the Ground, has been great, and appreciated by everyone, despite their Management, under Lord Chris Smith, being Proven To be Wrong, with the Non Dredging Policy, over the last 20 Years. As the Song Goes " Now Is The Time To Say Goodbye". To Lord Chris Smith Chairman of the Environment Agency Quan - GO !!! £1000.00 k a year, how many sandbags would that pay for !!!!???????? Do not feel, I'm being unfair, he still has his Peerage, the Expenses, the other Board Seats he is involved in, and on...........He just is Not Fit And Proper to be Head of the Disgraced E Agency. Which, must be resized, powers reverting back to Local Drainage Boards, with the Finances to Carry out the Delayed Dredging and Desilting of the River Parrett. David L Preece Blue- Owl

Looks like the defence work carried out @ Huntworth has been successful, let's hope the worst weather for the time being has passed. !!! Now the Dutch Pumps can shift the Millions of Tons of Water lying now on the Moors for the last 6- 8 weeks.
The fantastic efforts of the E Agency Engineers on the Ground, has been great, and appreciated by everyone, despite their Management, under Lord Chris Smith, being Proven To be Wrong, with the Non Dredging Policy, over the last 20 Years.
As the Song Goes " Now Is The Time To Say Goodbye". To Lord Chris Smith
Chairman of the Environment Agency Quan - GO !!! £1000.00 k a year, how many sandbags would that pay for !!!!????????
Do not feel, I'm being unfair, he still has his Peerage, the Expenses, the other Board Seats he is involved in, and on...........He just is Not Fit And Proper to be Head of the Disgraced E Agency.
Which, must be resized, powers reverting back to Local Drainage Boards, with the Finances to Carry out the Delayed Dredging and Desilting of the River Parrett.
David L Preece
Blue- OwlBlue Owl

Looks like the defence work carried out @ Huntworth has been successful, let's hope the worst weather for the time being has passed. !!! Now the Dutch Pumps can shift the Millions of Tons of Water lying now on the Moors for the last 6- 8 weeks. The fantastic efforts of the E Agency Engineers on the Ground, has been great, and appreciated by everyone, despite their Management, under Lord Chris Smith, being Proven To be Wrong, with the Non Dredging Policy, over the last 20 Years. As the Song Goes " Now Is The Time To Say Goodbye". To Lord Chris Smith Chairman of the Environment Agency Quan - GO !!! £1000.00 k a year, how many sandbags would that pay for !!!!???????? Do not feel, I'm being unfair, he still has his Peerage, the Expenses, the other Board Seats he is involved in, and on...........He just is Not Fit And Proper to be Head of the Disgraced E Agency. Which, must be resized, powers reverting back to Local Drainage Boards, with the Finances to Carry out the Delayed Dredging and Desilting of the River Parrett. David L Preece Blue- Owl

Score: 9

Hollow Willow says...9:17am Sat 15 Feb 14

I totally agree with your views Blue Owl. Good to read that you refer to the flooded areas as the Moors since the Levels seem fairly dry in comparison.

I totally agree with your views Blue Owl. Good to read that you refer to the flooded areas as the Moors since the Levels seem fairly dry in comparison.Hollow Willow

I totally agree with your views Blue Owl. Good to read that you refer to the flooded areas as the Moors since the Levels seem fairly dry in comparison.

Score: 5

Baldbloke says...7:06pm Sat 15 Feb 14

Agreed too - I can't help thinking that if drainage management was left to local people who know the area and its natural and artificial drainage channels (and were permitted to manage them as they saw fit), that the crisis we are currently seeing may not have occurred. There are some things that London-based grandees can have no grasp of, whatever they may care to think, or their "expert" advice holds. I have lived in both Burrowbridge and Stoke-St-Gregory and remember when the pumping station at Stathe was manned 24/7 by a local man who lived in a caravan on site. He would watch the water levels on the West Sedgemoor Drain and start up one or both of the big diesel pumps when required. Once operational, he would maintain them 24/7, applying lubricants etc when needed. I did it myself on a few occasions and have never forgotten being told that it was a case of snatching some sleep, get up and look after the pumps, then snatch more sleep until it was time time to do it all over again. There was little or no reliance on technology, just local knowledge, years of experience and a big rake to keep clear the grids that stopped large debris entering the pumps. They didn't always get it right but I never saw the extent of flooding that has affected Somerset to the extent we see now. Time to delegate local drainage management to local know-how!

Agreed too - I can't help thinking that if drainage management was left to local people who know the area and its natural and artificial drainage channels (and were permitted to manage them as they saw fit), that the crisis we are currently seeing may not have occurred. There are some things that London-based grandees can have no grasp of, whatever they may care to think, or their "expert" advice holds.
I have lived in both Burrowbridge and Stoke-St-Gregory and remember when the pumping station at Stathe was manned 24/7 by a local man who lived in a caravan on site. He would watch the water levels on the West Sedgemoor Drain and start up one or both of the big diesel pumps when required. Once operational, he would maintain them 24/7, applying lubricants etc when needed. I did it myself on a few occasions and have never forgotten being told that it was a case of snatching some sleep, get up and look after the pumps, then snatch more sleep until it was time time to do it all over again.
There was little or no reliance on technology, just local knowledge, years of experience and a big rake to keep clear the grids that stopped large debris entering the pumps. They didn't always get it right but I never saw the extent of flooding that has affected Somerset to the extent we see now.
Time to delegate local drainage management to local know-how!Baldbloke

Agreed too - I can't help thinking that if drainage management was left to local people who know the area and its natural and artificial drainage channels (and were permitted to manage them as they saw fit), that the crisis we are currently seeing may not have occurred. There are some things that London-based grandees can have no grasp of, whatever they may care to think, or their "expert" advice holds. I have lived in both Burrowbridge and Stoke-St-Gregory and remember when the pumping station at Stathe was manned 24/7 by a local man who lived in a caravan on site. He would watch the water levels on the West Sedgemoor Drain and start up one or both of the big diesel pumps when required. Once operational, he would maintain them 24/7, applying lubricants etc when needed. I did it myself on a few occasions and have never forgotten being told that it was a case of snatching some sleep, get up and look after the pumps, then snatch more sleep until it was time time to do it all over again. There was little or no reliance on technology, just local knowledge, years of experience and a big rake to keep clear the grids that stopped large debris entering the pumps. They didn't always get it right but I never saw the extent of flooding that has affected Somerset to the extent we see now. Time to delegate local drainage management to local know-how!

Score: 7

Blue Owl says...10:04pm Sat 15 Feb 14

Baldbloke great to see your post, interesting to read your thoughts and experience, much better than Bald Carl,s posts. Blue-Owl David L Preece

Baldbloke great to see your post, interesting to read your thoughts and experience, much better than Bald Carl,s posts.
Blue-Owl
David L PreeceBlue Owl

Baldbloke great to see your post, interesting to read your thoughts and experience, much better than Bald Carl,s posts. Blue-Owl David L Preece

Score: -1

Baldbloke says...5:21pm Sun 16 Feb 14

http://www.bbc.co.uk /news/science-enviro nment-26023166 If the science is right, then we need to get used to it and build infrastructure accordingly. Doing nothing and allowing politicians to make the decisions affecting us is not an option.

http://www.bbc.co.uk
/news/science-enviro
nment-26023166
If the science is right, then we need to get used to it and build infrastructure accordingly. Doing nothing and allowing politicians to make the decisions affecting us is not an option.Baldbloke

http://www.bbc.co.uk /news/science-enviro nment-26023166 If the science is right, then we need to get used to it and build infrastructure accordingly. Doing nothing and allowing politicians to make the decisions affecting us is not an option.

Score: 0

Somerset;SocialistParty says...3:31am Mon 17 Feb 14

Floods misery: Government cuts to blame While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game. Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks. In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response. After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming. Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts. These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention. Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October. Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public. It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place. "In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts. "Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010. Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger. There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue. We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing. The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people." "The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country. Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections. The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels. When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever". Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%. Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system." For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o rg.uk

Floods misery: Government cuts to blame
While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game.
Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks.
In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response.
After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming.
Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts.
These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention.
Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October.
Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public.
It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place.
"In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts.
"Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010.
Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger.
There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue.
We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing.
The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people."
"The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country.
Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections.
The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels.
When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever".
Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%.
Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system."
For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o
rg.ukSomerset;SocialistParty

Floods misery: Government cuts to blame While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game. Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks. In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response. After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming. Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts. These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention. Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October. Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public. It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place. "In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts. "Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010. Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger. There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue. We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing. The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people." "The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country. Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections. The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels. When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever". Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%. Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system." For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o rg.uk

Score: -1

Hollow Willow says...12:06pm Mon 17 Feb 14

Somerset;SocialistPa rty wrote…

Floods misery: Government cuts to blame While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game. Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks. In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response. After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming. Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts. These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention. Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October. Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public. It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place. "In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts. "Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010. Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger. There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue. We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing. The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people." "The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country. Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections. The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels. When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever". Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%. Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system." For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o rg.uk

How is it all the ConDem's faut? What did you socialists do to prevent climate change or flooding? The fault is letting local Rural matters be run by distant lefty liberal bunny huggers that have a political so called environmental agenda that they wish to impose on people without their consent. Which is exactly how all socialists have carried out their doctrine and why all socialism has failed.

[quote][p][bold]Somerset;SocialistPa
rty[/bold] wrote:
Floods misery: Government cuts to blame
While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game.
Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks.
In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response.
After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming.
Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts.
These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention.
Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October.
Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public.
It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place.
"In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts.
"Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010.
Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger.
There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue.
We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing.
The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people."
"The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country.
Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections.
The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels.
When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever".
Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%.
Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system."
For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o
rg.uk[/p][/quote]How is it all the ConDem's faut? What did you socialists do to prevent climate change or flooding?
The fault is letting local Rural matters be run by distant lefty liberal bunny huggers that have a political so called environmental agenda that they wish to impose on people without their consent. Which is exactly how all socialists have carried out their doctrine and why all socialism has failed.Hollow Willow

Somerset;SocialistPa rty wrote…

Floods misery: Government cuts to blame While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game. Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks. In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response. After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming. Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts. These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention. Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October. Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public. It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place. "In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts. "Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010. Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger. There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue. We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing. The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people." "The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country. Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections. The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels. When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever". Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%. Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system." For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o rg.uk

How is it all the ConDem's faut? What did you socialists do to prevent climate change or flooding? The fault is letting local Rural matters be run by distant lefty liberal bunny huggers that have a political so called environmental agenda that they wish to impose on people without their consent. Which is exactly how all socialists have carried out their doctrine and why all socialism has failed.

Score: 1

Blue Owl says...7:05pm Mon 17 Feb 14

Hollow Willow wrote…

Somerset;SocialistPa rty wrote…

Floods misery: Government cuts to blame While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game. Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks. In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response. After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming. Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts. These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention. Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October. Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public. It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place. "In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts. "Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010. Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger. There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue. We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing. The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people." "The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country. Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections. The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels. When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever". Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%. Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system." For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o rg.uk

How is it all the ConDem's faut? What did you socialists do to prevent climate change or flooding? The fault is letting local Rural matters be run by distant lefty liberal bunny huggers that have a political so called environmental agenda that they wish to impose on people without their consent. Which is exactly how all socialists have carried out their doctrine and why all socialism has failed.

HollowWillow, Greeeeeeat, I like you and your Posts, distraught for the Jugular, !!!! Fantastic. Unfortunatly, I as a Former SDC /BTC, still have to Control My Personal Thoughts , Somewhat. So not able to be So Direct @ times. As a former Elected Councillor, I spent many meetings Challenging, the E Agency, Policies, it's that Doctrine that they have followed, that's put our residents homes and Businesses under 4 foot of Water, for the Second year. I'm now told they were offered these Dutch pumps 2 Months ago, from Holland. Have just be out the Chedzoy, my late Granmothers Families Homes, her being the Eldest of the Fry, Clan.........I entered the Village from Bath Rd end, tried to leave to come to my place @ Dunwear !!!!! Oh , no the road out the Otherside of the Village to Westonzoyland is not visable, under a couple of foot of water, unable to see the Roads or Ditches, it's onslaught towards Bridgwater is creeping each day, now that the Environment Agency, have got their Planned loss of BurrowBridge to Save Bridgwater, how can we on the East Side, flood Zone 3 &3A be Free from the Waters egress.!!!! What happens when the Water gets to the Westonzoyland Electricity Sub Station ??????. Then the Motorway itself just Beyond, I do not see the water, levels falling at all, Westonzoyland is almost surrounded, on all sides. David L Preece Blue-Owl Conservative and Proud to be Associated, with Iain L Grainger MP for Bridgwater and W. Somerset, also David Cameron. P. Minister. Pleased to have NO Association with the communist party in Somerset !!!

[quote][p][bold]Hollow Willow[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Somerset;SocialistPa
rty[/bold] wrote:
Floods misery: Government cuts to blame
While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game.
Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks.
In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response.
After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming.
Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts.
These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention.
Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October.
Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public.
It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place.
"In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts.
"Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010.
Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger.
There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue.
We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing.
The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people."
"The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country.
Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections.
The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels.
When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever".
Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%.
Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system."
For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o
rg.uk[/p][/quote]How is it all the ConDem's faut? What did you socialists do to prevent climate change or flooding?
The fault is letting local Rural matters be run by distant lefty liberal bunny huggers that have a political so called environmental agenda that they wish to impose on people without their consent. Which is exactly how all socialists have carried out their doctrine and why all socialism has failed.[/p][/quote]HollowWillow, Greeeeeeat, I like you and your Posts, distraught for the Jugular, !!!! Fantastic. Unfortunatly, I as a Former SDC /BTC, still have to Control My Personal Thoughts , Somewhat. So not able to be So Direct @ times.
As a former Elected Councillor, I spent many meetings Challenging, the E Agency, Policies, it's that Doctrine that they have followed, that's put our residents homes and Businesses under 4 foot of Water, for the Second year.
I'm now told they were offered these Dutch pumps 2 Months ago, from Holland.
Have just be out the Chedzoy, my late Granmothers Families Homes, her being the Eldest of the Fry, Clan.........I entered the Village from Bath Rd end, tried to leave to come to my place @ Dunwear !!!!! Oh , no the road out the Otherside of the Village to Westonzoyland is not visable, under a couple of foot of water, unable to see the Roads or Ditches, it's onslaught towards Bridgwater is creeping each day, now that the Environment Agency, have got their Planned loss of BurrowBridge to Save Bridgwater, how can we on the East Side, flood Zone 3 &3A be Free from the Waters egress.!!!!
What happens when the Water gets to the Westonzoyland Electricity Sub Station ??????.
Then the Motorway itself just Beyond, I do not see the water, levels falling at all, Westonzoyland is almost surrounded, on all sides.
David L Preece
Blue-Owl
Conservative and Proud to be Associated, with Iain L Grainger MP for Bridgwater and W. Somerset, also David Cameron. P. Minister.
Pleased to have NO Association with the communist party in Somerset !!!Blue Owl

Hollow Willow wrote…

Somerset;SocialistPa rty wrote…

Floods misery: Government cuts to blame While thousands of homes and shops are waist deep in toxic water, and flooding hits new areas, government ministers indulge in a blame game. Stand-in environment minister Eric Pickles blamed the Environment Agency for not dredging rivers, while the department's incapacitated minister Owen Paterson was reportedly raging to Prime Minister David Cameron over Pickles' attacks. In reality, the entire government is to blame for a lack of preparation and its outrageously inadequate response. After all, climate change scientists have been warning for years about the expected increased frequency of extreme weather events - including unprecedented rainfall - caused by human induced global warming. Moreover, instead of investing in measures that have enormous potential to defend people, land and property against flooding, the government has pursued a vicious austerity agenda of public spending cuts. These cuts have been borne heavily by the Environment Agency, including its budget for flood prevention. Incredibly, on top of previous cuts, some 1,500 agency jobs (15% of the workforce), including 550 jobs in flood prevention, are due to be axed by October. Yet the cost to people's homes and the country's ruined infrastructure will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. The floods have exposed how this government puts the interests of a rich elite above those of a long-suffering public. It's high time that these 'Eton millionaires' are booted out and an environmentally sustainable plan of flood defences and infrastructure is put in place. "In July 2012 Guardian journalist Damian Carrington identified 294 shovel-ready flood defence schemes that had not proceeded because of cuts. "Maintenance of existing defences was suffering too. The government was forced to throw another £130 million of emergency funding into the hole - yet that still left spending lower than in 2010. Watching the interviews of the people affected by the floods, you can see and hear the mounting anger. There has been a change in outlook among thousands of people with growing anger towards the Con-Dems over this issue. We have private water companies raking it in, while running a Victorian plumbing system nationwide which causes enormous problems and clearly needs replacing. The floods show how applying the Tory outlook of 'doing more with less' to the Environment Agency by cutting their finance has affected many thousands of people." "The chain breaks at the weakest link. So it was in Dawlish, not two miles from my home town of Teignmouth, that a combination of high tides and winds broke the railway line that connects the south and west of Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country. Cutting off nearly a million people west of the river Exe, it has left Cornwall and major centres such as Plymouth and Torbay without rail connections. The West has been battered by storms - the worst for many decades, with record levels of rainfall resulting in damage everywhere and the flooding of 60 square miles of the Somerset levels. When this Coalition government was cobbled together in 2010, Cameron said he wanted it to be "the greenest government ever". Since then they have done the reverse, seeking to undermine the science of climate change and cutting Environmental Agency funds by nearly 40%. Like King Canute, the Con-Dems refuse to acknowledge that to turn the tide against global warming, there must be planning on a regional, national and international level - an impossible scenario given the 'values' that sustain their capitalist system." For more information, or to join the Socialist Party, visit: www.socialistparty.o rg.uk

How is it all the ConDem's faut? What did you socialists do to prevent climate change or flooding? The fault is letting local Rural matters be run by distant lefty liberal bunny huggers that have a political so called environmental agenda that they wish to impose on people without their consent. Which is exactly how all socialists have carried out their doctrine and why all socialism has failed.

HollowWillow, Greeeeeeat, I like you and your Posts, distraught for the Jugular, !!!! Fantastic. Unfortunatly, I as a Former SDC /BTC, still have to Control My Personal Thoughts , Somewhat. So not able to be So Direct @ times. As a former Elected Councillor, I spent many meetings Challenging, the E Agency, Policies, it's that Doctrine that they have followed, that's put our residents homes and Businesses under 4 foot of Water, for the Second year. I'm now told they were offered these Dutch pumps 2 Months ago, from Holland. Have just be out the Chedzoy, my late Granmothers Families Homes, her being the Eldest of the Fry, Clan.........I entered the Village from Bath Rd end, tried to leave to come to my place @ Dunwear !!!!! Oh , no the road out the Otherside of the Village to Westonzoyland is not visable, under a couple of foot of water, unable to see the Roads or Ditches, it's onslaught towards Bridgwater is creeping each day, now that the Environment Agency, have got their Planned loss of BurrowBridge to Save Bridgwater, how can we on the East Side, flood Zone 3 &3A be Free from the Waters egress.!!!! What happens when the Water gets to the Westonzoyland Electricity Sub Station ??????. Then the Motorway itself just Beyond, I do not see the water, levels falling at all, Westonzoyland is almost surrounded, on all sides. David L Preece Blue-Owl Conservative and Proud to be Associated, with Iain L Grainger MP for Bridgwater and W. Somerset, also David Cameron. P. Minister. Pleased to have NO Association with the communist party in Somerset !!!

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